Sudan

In Goz Beida, Eastern Chad, where new fighting has broken out between rebels and government forces, thousands of refugees from Darfur live in a large camp supported by WFP. Among them is 17-year-old Ekhbal, who yearns for a real home where she can be a normal teenager.

Many girls in rural Sudan fail to get far with their education because they marry early or their parents need them to help put food on the table at home. In the north Kordofan state, WFP is helping 55 women to make up for lost time and become literate in six months.

Sudan is one of WFP’s largest humanitarian operations in the world. In 2009, we aim to provide food assistance to 5.9 million people in the country, around 15 percent of the population. Read WFP news update

WFP has warned that millions of displaced Sudanese in Darfur are to face their third month of ration cuts as violence and attacks on trucking convoys continue to disrupt the flow of food assistance to the region.

The lives of Marayam and other women in her village have improved enormously since WFP helped the villagers excavate a nearby “haffir” – a traditional hand-dug reservoir which collects rain and holds up to 12,000 cubic metres of clean water.

Attacks on convoys are always a big threat in Darfur and pose a serious risk to WFP during its Sudan operations. The humanitarian community is hoping peace talks in Libya which are set for 27th October will make it safer to provide assistance to the poor and hungry relying on their help.

WFP has welcomed US government contributions in September totaling US$110.7 million for the hungry poor in 11 countries from Latin America to Asia. Nearly half the resources were targeted to Sudan, home to WFP’s single-largest operation in the world.